Rise of a Luna

“I, Alpha Ace Steel, reject you, Annie Copper, as my mate…” The words didn’t register at first. They hovered in the air, sharp and foreign, like a language I had never learned but somehow understood too well. I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth as though I could physically shove the sentence back into Ace’s throat. My knees threatened to buckle, my heart slamming so violently against my ribs it felt like it was trying to escape my body. This wasn’t happening. This was supposed to be my engagement party. My night. The night I officially became the future Luna of the Copperfang Pack. The night my father finally looked at me with pride. Instead, the world was cracking apart in front of everyone. “What do you mean you reject her?” my father thundered. His voice shook the grand hall, echoing off marble pillars and crystal chandeliers. I flinched, instinctively shrinking inward. When I looked at him, his face was twisted with rage and disbelief, his Alpha aura rippling through the room like a storm about to break. Whispers erupted all around me. Shock. Curiosity. Judgment. I turned slowly, my gaze sweeping across the hall. Wolves I had grown up with stared openly now. Some covered their mouths. Others leaned closer together, already crafting stories with sharp tongues and cruel imaginations. I saw pity in a few eyes—but pity hurt almost as much as disgust. Ace stepped forward. The man I had loved for three years. The man who once promised me forever under a full moon. His jaw was tight, his shoulders squared, his eyes colder than I had ever seen them. There was no hesitation in him. No regret. “Your daughter,” he said, lifting his hand and pointing directly at me, “is a slut.” The word struck like a physical blow. “I caught her with Omega Xiaver.” The hall exploded. Gasps tore through the crowd. Someone actually laughed in disbelief. Others murmured viciously, shaking their heads. I felt like the floor had vanished beneath my feet. My father’s fists clenched at his sides. My ears rang. “That’s a lie!” I screamed. My voice cracked, raw and desperate, slicing through the chaos. I stepped forward without realizing it, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. Ace was lying. Xiaver had been my friend since childhood. My shadow. My safe place when everything else felt too heavy. There had never been anything romantic—never even a hint of impropriety. We were packmates. Family. So why? Why was Ace doing this? “There is nothing that can be done,” Ace said coldly, his voice devoid of emotion. “I reject you. I cannot marry a whore.” I felt something inside me shatter completely. Slowly, deliberately, he slipped the engagement ring off his finger. Then he dropped it. The sharp clink as it hit the marble floor echoed louder than any scream. I stared at it, my vision blurring as tears finally spilled over. That ring had symbolized everything I believed my future would be. Every whispered promise. Every stolen smile. Every lie. Three years. Three years of loving him. Trusting him. Defending him when others warned me he was cruel. And now I understood. He had never loved me. He had only been waiting. “To my office. Now.” My father’s voice was final, cutting through the chaos like a blade. “The party has ended. Everyone may leave.” The crowd dispersed slowly, reluctantly, their whispers following me like ghosts as I trailed behind my father. Each step felt heavier than the last. I could already feel his disappointment pressing down on me like chains. I was a failure. I always had been. As I followed him down the corridor, the familiar comparison rose in my mind like poison—Sloane. Stronger. Fiercer. The daughter he should have had. The moment I stepped into his office, the door slammed shut behind me. “You had only one thing to do,” my father roared. “One. Marry Alpha Ace.” I flinched. “But no,” he continued, pacing. “You chose to shame this family by spreading your legs for a worthless omega—” “That’s not true!” I cried, stepping forward. “Father, please. Xiaver is just my friend. I swear—” His fist slammed into the desk. The crack echoed through the room, and I recoiled instinctively. “I’m disappointed in you.” Those words hurt more than the rejection. More than the humiliation. Because I had spent my entire life chasing his approval. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, my head bowing. “I’m so sorry.” “If you are truly sorry,” he said coldly, stopping in front of me, “you will go and win back Alpha Ace. Fix this disgrace.” I looked up, hope flickering weakly in my chest. “If you fail,” he continued, his eyes merciless, “don’t ever call me your father again. Now get out.” I didn’t remember leaving the office. I only remembered running. Tears streamed down my face unchecked, my chest aching with every breath. I stumbled through the halls like a ghost, hands shaking as I pulled out my phone. Mika. She would know what to say. She always did. The call didn’t go through. Again. Nothing. My throat tightened as the truth settled in. I was alone. A sob tore free from my chest, my shoulders shaking as I finally collapsed against the wall. “Oh, don’t be such a baby.” The voice was sharp. Familiar. I looked up. Sloane stood there, arms crossed, her lips curled into a smile that held no kindness. “What do you want?” I snapped weakly. She stepped closer, eyes gleaming. “Honestly? I came to watch you fall apart.” Her words stabbed deep. “You deserve this, Annie,” she said softly. “After all, if it weren’t for you, Mother would still be alive.” The world tilted. That night replayed in my mind—Mother begging me not to go into the woods. Me ignoring her. The Silver Fang Pack’s attack. Her body returned lifeless. All because of me. I shoved Sloane away, choking back a sob. “Get away from me.” She laughed and walked off. Hours later, numb and hollow, I found myself standing outside Ace’s door. It was slightly ajar. That was wrong. A woman’s voice drifted out soft, intimate. My blood turned to ice. I pushed the door open. I didn’t need to step far to see. Mika. My best friend. With him. The sight ripped something out of me that would never grow back. I stumbled away, clutching my chest, finally understanding the truth. Love was a lie. And betrayal wore the faces I trusted most.